Fitness Lab November 2020 issue

FITNESS LAB November 2020 ISSUE

CHEAT MEAL STRATEGIES FOR WEIGHT LOSS

HOME WORKOUTS FOR THAT PERFECT BODY

FITNESS INSPIRATION INTERVEW WITH

SEAN HYSON How to diet for

building muscle

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12 FITNESS INSPIRATION INTERVEW WITH SEAN HYSON Group Fitness Director for both Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness magazines 4 November 2020 Fitness Lab

CONTENTS

COVER STORY

NOVEMBER 15TH 2020 Volume 230

IN EVERY ISSUE • MEAL PLANS • WORKOUT ROUTINES • INTERVIEW

FEATURTES 6 16 CHEAT MEAL STRATEGIES

FOR WEIGHT LOSS

When it comes to weight loss, dietary cheaters almost always prosper.

24 10 HOME WORKOUTS FOR

THAT PERFECT BODY

Blank is what plenty of fitness experts think holding a plank for a minute-plus is a very impressive measure of fitness.

20 BODYBUILDING DIET PLAN There is no special “bodybuilding diet.” There’s just common sense nutrition and daily calorie targets.

November 2020 Fitness Lab 5

What if we told you that you could cheat, guilt-free, and it would actually be good for you?

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16

CHEAT MEAL STRATEGIES

FOR WEIGHT LOSS

November 2020 Fitness Lab 7

16 cheat meal strategies for weight loss

When it comes to weight loss, dietary cheaters almost always prosper.

That’s because under the right parameters, a weekly “cheat meal” has been proven to boost your metabolism and ward off feelings of deprivation—improving not only your ability to lose weight, but your ability to stick to your diet plan as well. Maximize the weight loss benefits and minimize the damage while eating the foods you crave. Here’s how you can have a cheat meal (or two) on your diet—and still lose weight!

1

PLAN TO CHEAT Having a strategy is a key part of a cheat meal. Plan when and what you’re going to eat. Most experts agree that one shift at the trough per week is sufficient. It’s a good idea to line up that cheat meal on a weekend or social occasion. “By planning your cheat meal, you know what you’ll be eating and can cut a few extra calories earlier in the day,” says Jim White, RD, ACSM Health Fitness Specialist and owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios. This also allows you to really pick a favorite food instead of wasting calories on something you didn’t enjoy.”

2

EARN THE BURN One way cheat meals can boost the metabolism is by increasing levels of leptin, the “anti-starvation” hormone responsible for sending hunger messages to the body. When your body senses a calorie deficit, leptin levels drop, prompting the metabolism to slow down and conserve energy, according to a Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism study.

Throwing a calorie-rich cheat meal into the mix tricks your system into thinking food is plentiful and that it’s OK to burn through fat stores.

In the context of strict dieting, cheat meals can aid weight loss by temporarily boosting leptin. But if you’ve been lax with your meal plan, the leptin argument is a moot point. In other words, you have to be nice before you can afford to be naughty.

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3

DON’T CHEAT WHEN YOU’RE

FAMISHED

Some people pre-game a cheat meal by punishing themselves on the treadmill and severely restricting calories for days in advance. They’re probably the same folks who sleep with the heat off and live by candlelight in order to save for a mini vacation. While creating a “calorie buffer” can be a smart cheat-meal strategy, overcompensating for a feast by “saving” calories for days in advance almost always backfires. You’re more likely to overeat if you come to the table deprived.

4

CHEAT IN MODERATION There’s a cheat meal and there’s a cheat day… or days. And the latter—going nuts on the weekend because you’ve been on point with your diet during the week—is never a good idea. A solid diet

and exercise program will help you lose 1 to 2 pounds per week—a deficit of about 3,500 to 7,000 calories. Consider that a Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics study found that average sit-down restaurant meal serves up 1,205 calories, and it’s easy to see how cheating too big or too frequently, can undo your weight loss efforts in a matter of hours. If you’re serious about losing weight, limit yourself to one cheat meal per week. Pick a date, a meal time and a restaurant; and put it in the diary.

5

CREATE A CALORIE BUFFER You can minimize the damage of a cheat meal the day of your feast by “banking” the majority of your daily calories, primarily those from carbs and fats. There are a couple of ways to do this effectively. If possible, fast before the meal. In other words, if you’re cheating at dinnertime, move your first meal to later in the day (lunchtime).

Reducing the number of hours you’ll be eating not only saves you calories, but it also shifts your body into a “fat burning” state.

Showing up to the table famished isn’t a good idea either. So make sure you eat one high-quality, high-protein meal before your cheat, preferably with high-fiber, low-starch veggies to slow down digestion. A big green salad with simple grilled chicken breast and a squeeze of lemon, for example, would be an ideal pre-cheat meal.

6

WORK OUT BEFORE YOU FEAST Another trick to minimize fat gains from your cheat meal is to deplete your glycogen stores—the sugar in your system that your body burns up for energy. Why does it work? The body won’t store carbohydrate as body fat until its glycogen reserves are full, so the emptier your tank, the more room you have for, say, spaghetti, before it ends up on your thighs. How do you do it? Hit the gym before your cheat meal (ideally before you eat anything that day). High-rep circuit style workouts are the best depletion workouts. Even 20 minutes can make a dent. Want an extra boost?

Have a cup of black coffee before your sweat-sesh.

Studies show caffeine can increase fat metabolism when taken as a pre-workout supplement.

7

TAKE YOUR OWN ORDER It’s easy to be overwhelmed by temptations on the menu. Studies show that when people are presented with multiple food options, they eat more. Try to mentally limit the food choices you’re allowed in advance of your cheat meal by focusing on the options you absolutely love and crave. Choose a restaurant with a menu over a buffet and, if possible, peruse the options in advance. Head to your restaurant with a game plan: Have a good idea of what you’re going to order before the waiter arrives at your table. Stick to what you know you’ll enjoy most, and skip the rest.

8

DON'T PIG OUT Wait, what? Isn’t the whole idea of this to stuff yourself silly, to make all the sacrifice worth it? Actually, no. The cheat meal is an opportunity to eat what you like, not a mandate to eat what you can. There are two

ways you can stop yourself from gorging. First, set time restraints. “Remember it’s a cheat meal, not a cheat day,” says White. “Don’t go overboard and have a whole day of eating a lot of extra calories or eating a lot of junk food. So eat two to three pieces of pizza, not a whole pie.”

9

GET A TABLE, NOT A BOOTH Resist the urge to grab a stool at the bar and chow down while you watch the game. Research shows that people who eat while watching television eat an average 10 percent more in one sitting than they would otherwise.

Not only that, “distracted eaters” go on to eat up to 25 percent more total calories over the course of the day. You can savor every bite and save hundreds of calories, just by indulging in the dining room instead of the booths at the bar.

10

ORDER THE BEST TYPE OF CHEAT MEAL Some cheat meals are better than others. And a high carbohydrate, moderate protein meal, however “naughty,” can help you stay on track with your diet. Why? Carbohydrates have the greatest influence on leptin levels, which help you burn fat and feel satisfied. And protein has the greatest influence on satiety due to its influence on appetite-regulating hormones and high thermic effect—the process

of digesting protein requires more energy of your body than any other macronutrient. Need an example? How about a few rolls of sushi?

Steak and a potato? Pancakes and an egg white omelet? Spaghetti and meatballs? The options are virtually unlimited, so long as you …

11

AVOID THE WORST TYPE OF CHEAT MEAl A high-fat meal causes more immediate fat storage than a high-carb meal. The reason?

Dietary fat is stored as body fat more efficiently than carbohydrate or protein. For your body to turn a carbohydrate molecule into a very different fat molecule, it has to use a chemical process that in itself burns energy (about 25 percent per gram of carbohydrate). On the other hand, dietary fat is chemically similar to body fat and requires hardly any energy for conversion.

November 2020 Fitness Lab 9

16 cheat meal strategies for weight loss

12

ORDER A FEW ROUNDS Restaurant meals tend to be high in sodium, which throws off antidiuretic hormones—chemicals that control how much you urinate—and can leave you feeling dehydrated and bloated. Start replenishing your body while you indulge with a few large glasses of water. Drink a few glasses with your meal, before you hit the sack and when you wake up the next day. (And if you want to kickstart your jump back on the healthy eating train, try adding in a couple of the best teas for weight loss).

13

TAKE YOUR TIME Savor and enjoy. You’ve been looking forward to this all week, so appreciate the taste of your favorite foods and extend the fun. White adds that by slowing your roll, you’ll recognize when you’re full. That’ll help prevent overeating.

14

EVEN A CHEAT MEAL SHOULD BE NUTRIENT RICH Pick a meal that still has nutritional value instead of something with empty calories. If you’re choosing between Ding-Dongs and a Slurpee on the one hand, and a fully loaded cheeseburger, fries and a beer on the other, choose the latter. Take advantage of protein, fat, and carbs, even if that’s higher in calories than foods that are processed, artificially flavored or full of ingredients you can’t pronounce.

15

GET BACK ON TRACK “Everyone is entitled to a cheat meal, but no one is entitled to a cheat week—not even on your birthday,” says Shapiro.

“Don’t think, ‘I just ruined my diet, so I’m going to keep eating whatever I want.’” Enjoy your meal and resume your healthy plan ASAP. “This will keep you moving in the right direction and won’t allow for any permanent setbacks,” she says. White also recommends purging the fridge of leftovers to keep temptation out of your reach.

16

DRAGGING IN THE GYM? TREAT YOURSELF! This tip might seem like the most counterintuitive of all. If you’ve had three or four lackluster workouts in a row, it may be that your body is glycogen depleted or in need of other nutrients. Cheat your face off, and see what happens. You might find that a plate of fettuccine alfredo will improve your morale and get you back in your groove. Just don’t treat every gym plateau with poutine. It’s much healthier to try listening to a new Spotify playlist first.

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LUNNA ROSSA BLACK

U Un nd de e rr tt h he e m mo oo on n ss h ha ad do ow w

“Somewhere along the way, I learned how to train the right way… Or at least better.”

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November 2020 Fitness Lab 13

SEAN HYSON

Fitness inspiration interview with sean hyson

14 November 2020 Fitness Lab

A few months back a the Central Virginia Sports Performance Seminar I met a relatively unassuming guy by the name of Sean Hyson.

While you may not be familiar with him by name, as the Group Fitness Director for both Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness magazines, he is one of those behind the scenes guys that has a great deal of influence in what goes on in gyms around the country.After talking to him, it was obvious that he puts a lot of time and energy into educating himself and is genuinely interested in putting out quality training information rather than just but filler copy between supplement advertisements.

I thought readers of the site would enjoy hearing from someone in his position and see what really goes on behind the scenes of two of the bigger fitness magazines.

“I was an unathletic, weak, skinny kid growing up. So, naturally, I was fascinated by people who were just the opposite!�

November 2020 Fitness Lab 15

16 November 2020 Fitness Lab

Fitness inspiration interview with sean hyson To start out, can you give us a brief background on your own training history and how you got into becoming a writer/editor for some of the bigger fitness magazines out there?

I was an unathletic, weak, skinny kid growing up. So, naturally, I was fascinated by people who were just the opposite! I practiced martial arts for many years and then got into lifting in college. I was hooked right away, but like every beginner, I had no guidance (except the muscle mags) and I did everything wrong. It’s a funny irony that I now write for some of those same magazines and, through them, I try to help guys avoid the mistakes I made. I started at Men’s Fitness in 2003 as an editorial assistant, taking on any jobs the editors would give me. I set my sights on becoming fitness editor and worked my way up, earning the C.S.C.S. in the process. Somewhere along the way, I learned how to train the right way… Or at least better.

What does a typical day at the office look like for you?

I try to read all the best blogs and training sites at some point in the day so I can see what coaches are up to and get ideas for magazine stories.

Elitefts.com, T-Muscle, and, of course, 8weeksout.com are on that list.

I send out a bunch of emails to trainers and nutritionists or call them up and ask for workouts/diets for the magazine. More often than not I end up trying them out on myself. It’s the best job a fitness fanatic like me could ask for-I have easy access to the top experts in the field and an unlimited amount of great information at arm’s length.

When the workouts/programs come in, I edit them. This mainly involves making sure they’re suitable for a mass audience who trains in a public gym. I also write up the selling points-the sales pitch of why this routine is effective and worth trying-and I supervise the photo shoots for the exercises. All those half-naked men you see lifting weights in the magazine? I’m the guy who told them where to stand. Not my favorite part of the job, haha!

Given the amount of people that read the information that goes into your magazines, you have an opportunity to influence what goes on in gyms and weight rooms around the country. What’s the process involved in determining who and what goes in the magazines and what doesn’t? How do you separate training fact from marketing fiction?

That’s the hardest part of the job. I pride myself on being ethical and trying to harvest only the best information. Unfortunately, I am in the business of selling magazines, not changing the industry for the better, so I often have to make concessions that I’m not entirely comfortable with. The fact is, people (and advertisers) like to see certain kinds of workouts, celebrity trainers, and crazy diet plans that don’t always jibe with what I believe to be true (or what science has shown!) But I think anyone picking up an issue of Men’s Fitness or Muscle&Fitness today will get a lot of top-notch information that will really yield fast results. These magazines are a lot better now than when most guys our age started reading them 10 or 15 years ago.

As for who gets into the mags, I work mainly by referral now. If a guy I know and trust who I’ve worked with for years tells me you’re a solid trainer, I’ll check out your stuff online and then probably reach out to you.

If you’re some random trainer out there, I probably won’t make it a priority to get back to you. I’ll call you. Most of the best coaches I ever worked with I had to seek out myself. They weren’t beating down my door because they were too busy training people and making their own success. They didn’t really need me or the magazines.

November 2020 Fitness Lab 17

Fitness inspiration interview with sean hyson I’m sure over the years you’ve seen a lot of training fads come and go. recently, “functional training” and CrossFit have both become popular buzzwords and influenced how a lot of people train. What is your take on the commercial success of both and do you think either or both are here for the long run or do you think they’ll eventually fade and be replaced with something else?

What advice can you offer to the personal trainers and strength coaches out there who want to start getting their articles published in the major magazines?

There’s no easy way to do it. First, become a great trainer. As I said before, that will help us find you. Second, work whatever connections you have. If you know a coach who’s in with us, ask him to put in a word for you. But I guess that’s pretty obvious advice. If you’re a good writer who knows the magazine’s style, that will certainly help you get more assignments but I don’t know that it helps you get in the door. I’m used to dealing with guys who give great training information but aren’t particularly smooth writers. That’s ok by me. But I always appreciate a guy who comes to me and says he’s read the magazine for months and he has five ideas for each of the specific sections that I edit. That saves us both a lot of time.

With so much media now available moving online and major book retailers going out of business, how has this affected print magazines like the ones you work for? There are also several popular fitness websites that are not offered in print at all. Where do you see the future of the fitness information business going?

There’s no question magazines are losing ground and the future of the business is online. We have websites for Men’s and Muscle, and I hope we’ll be able to make better use of them going forward. As fast as things are changing however, magazines and books still have what my friend and colleague John Romaniello calls “the thud factor”. They make a noise when you drop them on a coffee table. They look and sound important and professional. Almost every expert I know in the field wants to be in a magazine and author a print book, even if they can make more money just concentrating on Internet ventures.

One thing I will promise readers is that we’ve worked hard to bring the best of what you can find online to one place. As easy as it is to access training info for free online, you often can’t trust what you’re getting.

It’s been misinterpreted and watered down, and most of the “experts” you find peddling it are anything but. We’re not infallible, but the mags I edit use the most credible sources and offer the best methods available. I started my own site, seanhyson.com, to have a little more freedom from the magazines and bring you more content, more quickly. If anyone wants to see who I’ve met lately and what I’m learning about now, check it out!

I think there’s something to be learned from every fad out there, no matter how outrageous. I think if making an effort to be more “functional” with your training means getting off machines and doing more movements in the gym that you actually make in life, it’s fine. If you define it as standing on a ball and using weights that are too light to produce a training effect, you’ve gone too far. I love that Crossfit has made people aware of the Olympic lifts, the power lifts, and various training modalities. People who train like that are doing much better than people at Planet Fitness who are terrified to work hard. But Crossfit done irresponsibly can get people injured. You have to have a certain reverence for those big lifts and shouldn’t just throw them into a circuit, do them for high reps, and neglect rest periods.

I don’t want to generalize, because there are good Crossfit gyms and bad ones. Good “functional” trainers and bad ones. Functional training and Crossfit may well fade, but the principles they’ve awakened people to have always been here and will always remain: exercise that carries over to life, big compound lifts, explosive training, concurrent periodization, etc.

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“Functional training and Crossfit may well fade, but the principles they’ve awakened people to have always been here and will always remain”

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How to diet for building muscle?

BODYBUILDING

DIET PLAN 20 November 2020 Fitness Lab

Body buiding diet plan

BODYBUILDING DIET MEALS There is no special "bodybuilding diet."

There's just common sense nutrition and daily calorie targets. You can follow any diet you want: ketogenic, paleo, whatever. So long as you hit your protein and calorie targets, you're fine.

To consistently reach your daily calorie target, it’s critical to develop a reliable muscle building meal plan based off what I call “core foods.” These are healthy, high-calorie foods you should stock in your kitchen to form the basis of every meal: • 1 packet of plain instant oatmeal — 125 calories (easiest and tastiest choice) • 1 sweet potato — 115 calories (cooks quickly in the microwave) • 1 cup of cooked brown rice — 200 calories (this is the least healthy option) • 1 can of black beans — 350 calories (easiest to buy canned) • 1 cup of cooked quinoa — 220 calories (hard to find pre-cooked for a low price) • 1 can of lentils — 350 calories (easiest to buy canned from the supermarket) • 1/4 bag of Soylent powder — 500 calories (a well-rounded meal substitute)

If your day's target is 2,000 calories, and you’ve chosen to eat the majority of your calories from brown rice (200 calories per can), that’s 10 cups of brown rice to eat.

In practice, I'd vary it up a bit so you balance your nutrients. For most people, the intersection of ease, price, and taste makes brown rice, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal the go-to muscle building core foods. Every day for as long as you want to build or maintain muscle, you must eat enough to reach your calorie target.

Now let's walk through an example!

Decide which of the core foods you’re willing to eat. Then buy a ton of them. Don’t overlook the convenience of having these simple go-to foods on-hand. Otherwise you’ll cave and eat out more than you should. When you eat out, it’s tough to know how many calories you’re getting. There’s a lot of hidden oil and sugar.

Of course, you can also eat other foods beyond these core foods. You have a life to live, and who doesn’t like dining out and making home cooked meals! That’s no problem. But you’ll need to develop a rough idea of the calories in the non-core meals you eat so you know how much of your core to avoid eating that day.

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Body buiding diet plan

SMALL MEAL If you eat a 500 calorie restaurant lunch and a 1000 calorie restaurant dinner, subtract 1,500 from your 2,000 daily target to determine how many calories you must get from core foods.

500 remaining calories is 1.5 cans of beans or lentils we must eat. Hopefully we add some spice and veggies to keep it interesting!

To keep your calculations simple, make these assumptions when dining out: • A small meal (e.g. chicken breast, vegetables, lettuce): 250 calories.

• A medium meal (e.g. small portion of turkey, heavy oil and sauce): 500 calories.

• A large meal (e.g. 8oz steak, sweet potatoes, beer): 750 calories.

With the 3 Basic diet meals

These numbers are low-balled by 25-35% because we can’t risk undereating. Failing to hit your calorie target will hinder or completely prevent your muscle growth from that day’s workout.

Yes, slightly overeating on workout days means you might gain a couple pounds of fat by the end of this program. But you can burn that off when you're done gaining muscle.

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MEDIUM MEAL

Body buiding diet plan

LARGE MEAL

If you’re ever in doubt about hitting your daily calorie target, follow this: • On workout days, eat a bit more than you think you need to.

• On non-workout days, eat a bit less than you think you need to. In my experimentation, I've found that as long as you don’t run a calorie deficit greater than 20% of your non-workout day target, you don't lose muscle. The page before this has a technique for measuring muscle gains. Try it and experiment.

If there are certain foods or meals you regularly eat, take the time to jot down the calorie counts listed on their nutritional labels.

If you’re eating a prepared meal that doesn't have a label, you can use MyFitnessPal to tally up the calorie counts for the meal’s individual food items (e.g. steak, potatoes, gravy).

You don’t have to constantly do this. The goal is just to have a rough idea of how many calories you’re getting from non-core meals so you instinctively know how many cups/cans of core foods you don't have to eat that day.

Commit to the program!

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10 HOME WORKOUTS FOR THAT PERFECT BODY!

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10 home workouts for that perfect body

1

PUSHUP

This one’s a timeless classic. The pushup is essential for building a big chest, cannonball delts, and triceps that look like the wishbone you pulled out of the turkey on Thanksgiving. Master this move and it will yield the same benefits as the bench press.

3

PULLUP

Another classic move. The pullup hits every muscle in the body and is underrated in terms of arm and abs development. It stands alone as the original biceps curl, and it’s definitely one of the best things you can do for your arms—not to mention the muscles in your back

BLANK

Plenty of fitness experts think holding a plank for a minute-plus is a very impressive measure of fitness. The plank requires excellent shoulder stability and top-notch muscle endurance of the abs, lower back, shoulders, neck, and legs. Not only that, but it works well to develop an impressive six-pack (more time under tension = more muscle).

5

2

GLUTE BRIDGE

Yeah, not exactly the prettiest exercise (it’s downright awkward, like these moves) but any trainer will tell you that having strong, mobile glutes is essential for good back health—and other experts agree that having a set of glutes does wonders for your sex appeal.

4

ROLLOUT (AB WHEEL OR BARBELL)

Okay, this one’s not quite equipment-free—you’ll need an ab roller or a barbell. But the ab tension you feel in the rollout is similar to what you experience in a plank—just a notch more difficult. The farther you roll out, the harder the exercise becomes, leading to better results.

6

INVERTED ROW

Arguably as versatile a back exercise as the pullup, the inverted row is a great opposing motion to work with the pushup. Turn your hands around so you’re holding the bar underhand, and you’ve got a better bicep builder than any curl variation out there. It’s a key exercise for building wide shoulders and big arms—and that means more attention on the beach this summer.

November 2020 Fitness Lab 25

10 home workouts for that perfect body

7

CLOSE-GRIP PUSHUP

This pushup variation specifically targets your triceps—and big triceps make your arms look that much bigger. Plus: Since all your muscles (including biceps and triceps) grow in pairs, bigger triceps means bigger biceps. Add this move to your arm workout and watch your progress soar.

8

STAR PLANK

This advanced variation of the plank not only creates a greater challenge for your core, but also forces your chest and shoulders to pick up some of the load. It also proves you can work your chest, shoulders and abs at the same time.

10

9

DIP

Many people think the dip is primarily a triceps exercise—and while that’s definitely true, dips also hit your chest and shoulders just as hard. Another underrated aspect of the dip is the core strength it takes to do them properly. Dips aren’t for the faint of heart (justw try a few) but they can be your greatest ally in getting big pecs and overall upper-body strength.

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BURPEE

The No. 1 favorite exercise of any trainer who wants to help their clients burn fat, the burpee has become a staple in programs from bootcamps to CrossFit and everything in between (in fact, it was made popular by CrossFit). A full-body explosive motion that requires better cardio than hill sprints and more coordination than nearly any exercise, there’s no doubt that a steady diet of burpees will accelerate your progress toward a leaner, shredded body.

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